The in-situ delivery of therapeutic agents within the body of a patient is common in the practice of modern medicine. In-situ delivery of therapeutic agents is often implemented using medical devices that may be temporarily or permanently placed at a target site within the body. These medical devices can be maintained, as required, at their target sites for short or prolonged periods of time, in order to deliver therapeutic agents to the target site.
It is known that the sizes and shapes of pores within a porous material are related to the release rate of drugs from, and the access of bodily fluids to, that material. As a general rule, once pores are formed in a particular material, the pore size and shape are locked in.